The Pandemic Is a Perfect Time to Forgive Student Debt
You see the picture right there? The one of the Federal Reserve headquarters? You see the trees growing in front of it? They’re the closest we’ve come to money growing on trees. That’s because the Fed governors inside have a special tool, one they’ve used plenty during the pandemic to inject liquidity into large financial […]
Anti-Intellectualism and Partisanship are Killing US Climate Reform
Through patterns of industrialization and globalization, humanity has built planet-altering power. Daily activities as mundane as making coffee in the morning increase our chemical and ecological footprint. Sea levels rise at a startling rate of over an eighth of an inch per year and our oceans have lost two percent of their oxygen in half […]
Even the Environment is Racist: How Pollution Affects People of Color
After World War II, the United States began conducting nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. The second test resulted in the radioactive contamination of hundreds of Navy ships. In an attempt to decontaminate these ships, the Navy moved them to a lab in the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, where the military would deep […]
Senate Republicans’ Misguided, Last-Ditch China Strategy
In April, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) distributed a fifty-seven page memo titled, “Corona Big Book.” Its message was simple. “China caused this pandemic by covering it up, lying, and hoarding the world’s supply of medical equipment,” the memo reads. “China is an adversary that has stolen millions of American jobs, sent fentanyl to […]
Banking for People, Not for Banks
For a man whose beard generates enough drag to slow a freefall, Bill Booth certainly loved to design parachutes. Through patented parachute improvements and the development of instructor-guided tandem jumping, this aerial Hagrid made his beloved sport safer and more accessible. Since Booth began innovating in the 1970s—presumably while manifesting his destiny across the continent—the […]
Leadership and Local Politics in NYC’s 2021 Mayoral Election
As the COVID-19 pandemic threw American metropolises into disarray, many looked to the nation’s urban hotspots for guidance on handling the unremitting distress. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, for one, was propelled to national recognition for his response, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio faced intense criticism for his perceived failures—such as the […]
Go Global, Think Local: How US Immigration Policies Affect Massachusetts
After hurling his way into power using “build a wall” rhetoric, President Trump reduced the cap on national refugee admissions from 110,000 to 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year. Despite this, 53,716 refugees were admitted. The following year, Trump decreased the cap to 45,000, seemingly to rectify this over-acceptance. Only 22,491 refugees gained entry. For […]
Want to Unclog America’s Courts? Make Losers Pay.
The American legal system allows low-merit cases and easy settlement money. The loser-pays rule could help to fix this problem. In 2005, Judge Roy L. Pearson Jr. filed a $64 million civil suit against three owners of a Washington D.C. dry cleaners, Custom Cleaners, for losing a pair of pants that he claimed cost over […]
(Perpetuating) War and (Preventing) Peace: America’s Failed Arms Sales
America’s executive branch has systemically failed to evaluate state stability when sending billions of dollars of weapons abroad. The country’s defense trade lacks cogent rationale, amplifies risks, and results in countless unintended consequences. The trade exacerbates conflicts and costs American lives. Between 2002 and 2018, the US sold a conservative estimate of $560 billion in […]
A Window of Opportunity: How COVID-19 Is Changing California Prisons
American prisons are founded on punishment over rehabilitation and profit over humanity. They maintain slavery under the guise of criminalization. And they have only worsened over time. Our prison practices exploit, neglect, and kill incarcerated people. California’s incarceration rate alone is higher than the United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Belgium, and Italy combined. California’s prisons are […]